Our company was founded in 1901 by James J. Barry, grandfather of our Chairman, Peter Barry. From the beginning, quality was at the heart of our business. In fact in 1934, Anthony Barry was awarded the Empire Cup for tea blending. Our quality philosophy endures to this very day. It’s something we will never ever compromise on.
The other thing that’s close to our heart is where we come from. We’ve always believed in maintaining strong links with our community, and every year we support many cultural, educational and community projects.
Until the 1960s, our teas were sourced mostly from India and Sri Lanka and were sold mainly from our Cork City shop in Prince’s Street. But when our blends kept growing in popularity, we decided to widen the wholesaling and distribution of the brand. So we began selling our tea to other shops in Cork City Centre, expanding into the suburbs, then out to the rest of the country.
At the same time, Barry’s Tea tasters began to sample exciting new teas coming from East Africa. There was an incredible reaction to these new blends, and they became something of a Barry’s signature. It became apparent that the qualities of freshness, flavour and that distinctive golden colour were very much unique to Barry’s Tea.
Simply by word of mouth, the reputation of Barry’s Tea continued to grow and by the mid-1980s it had become a much loved national brand, a fact which makes us incredibly proud.
At Barry’s Tea, we’ve always listened to the needs of our tea drinkers. So as health became more of a priority for you we introduced a new range of Herbal and Green Teas. This range has evolved over time to include a full herbal, fruit and green tea collection, called Barry’s Speciality Teas. They’re infused with all things healthy and nice, and we hope you love them as much as we do.
To help you get to know us a little better, we’ve included some facts about our company. We’ve also included a potted history of our origins and our growth, from a small family run business to Ireland’s favourite tea brand.
Ethics are incredibly important to Barry’s Tea. Just like we support our community at home, we believe in supporting the local communities we buy our tea from.
95% of our tea is bought directly through government agencies in East Africa. Why? Because these agencies represent small farmers and they help them get the best possible price for their tea. This ensures the development of the local economies, something we strongly believe in.
Here’s an example of how it works:
The Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) was established in 1963 and has been incredibly successful at promoting the Kenyan tea industry. Farmers are paid by the quality and quantity of the tea they produce and Barry’s always pays above the average price.
Similar organisations exist in Uganda (UTGA) and Rwanda (OCIR). Following recent unrest in these countries, they were among the first organisations to be assisted with aid from the EU. Tea is consistently amongst the top foreign exchange earner and largest employer in all of these countries. This shows just how important the tea industries is to these local economies.
Our other main suppliers have proven themselves as well-run and ethical organisations. We’ve visited their estates in Assam, Kenya and India and were impressed by their excellent housing and medical facilities. Quite often, the tea estate’s medical centre is the only hospital in an area, so it’s a vital resource for the local community. Our suppliers also provide land and build schools for the children of the tea pickers. Again, Barry’s adopts the policy of paying prices which are above average for the benefit of the community.